What Fiction are you reading this week, February 12, 2023?

[hermetic]

Thanks for the hearts!


Reading Blindsighted by Karin Slaughter, a crime/thriller from 2001. A small Georgia town erupts in panic when a young college professor is found brutally mutilated in the restroom of the local diner. This book has lots of surprises. I'll be reading along, thinking that I will put it down at the next break and, WHAM! Something wild and unexpected happens, keeping me going.

Listening toThe Silence of the Library by Miranda James. Shades of Nancy Drew! A celebrated author's visit to the small town of Athena, Mississippi draws an unruly swarm of mystery buffs, and one devious killer. Librarian Charlie Harris and his rescued Maine coon cat named Diesel, will be doing their usual detecting. Had to listen to something on the light side to offset the grimness of the book.

Wishing you all Happy Valentine's Day celebrations!

[The King of Prussia]

1. Death and the Conjuror by Tom Mead

I think it's the first novel by this author. It's a locked room mystery set in 1936. Very much in the style of the Golden Age. Enjoying it so far, though I think I may have solved it.

Earlier in the week I read, and thoroughly enjoyed, The Last Remains - the final (for now) episode in Elly Griffiths's Ruth Galloway series. We also attended an event with Elly. She's lovely.

Next up I'm tempted to step out of my comfort zone and try something by Domenica De Rosa.

Have a great week!

[hermetic]

2. Ahh, de Rosa, aka Elly Griffiths

Author of the Dr Ruth Galloway Mysteries, the Brighton Mysteries, and the Justice Series. Real name is Domenica de Rosa and has written four books under that name. She made her debut as a published author in 2001 with a non-fiction book. When she was eleven, she wrote her first book - a murder mystery set in Rottingdean, near the village where she still lives. Quite the woman of mystery, I'd say.

[NoRethugFriends]

3. The Last Chairlift, by John Irving, (900 pages) my favorite author by far.

It's been seven years since his last book, and he's not getting younger

[hermetic]

4. That's not been out long

John Irving, one of the world's greatest novelists, returns with a ghost story, a love story, and a lifetime of sexual politics. Sounds great.

[NoRethugFriends]

13. I'm a quarter of the way through and love it.

Always "fun" to try to guess which characters he's going to kill off, but there always seem to be plenty left.
Definite indirect Owen Meanyish references in there, and of course, always wrestling.

[Magoo48]

5. Nick Drake mystery #7. Author, Dwight Holing.

Listening to Tony Hillerman #17. I read them all as they came out and have been listening to the set recently. The readers are fantastic.

[hermetic]

6. That would be THE DEMON SKIN

A thrilling whitewater adventure where US Fish & Wildlife Ranger Nick Drake takes his beautiful and impetuous new supervisor on a river trip. The author draws on "his deeply-rooted connection to the American West and understanding of the natural world to create a masterful literary thriller populated by unforgettable characters and unstoppable action." Sounds really good.
I am also a big fan of the Hillerman books though I've never listened to one. I'll have to give it a try. Thanks.

[Magoo48]

19. Yes, Nick and Jasper just mixed it up, and Pudge is in a bit of a fix. Good stuff.

[Polly Hennessey]

7. I am reading, Duplicity Dogged The Dachshund by

Blaize Clement. My new cozy bedtime pleasure. 😇

[hermetic]

8. I love alliteration

Everyone's favorite pet-sitting sleuth Dixie Hemingway is back with another riveting tail about the four-legged fight against crime. Fun stuff. Well, except for the psychopathic killer part.

[mike_c]

9. happy valentines!

I'm taking a break from fiction this week, working my way through an astronomy text instead. I haven't been excited by most of my unread novels and such lately. I go through phases.

[hermetic]

10. Hang in there

The right book is always right around the corner somewhere. Astronomy's good.

[SheltieLover]

11. Betrayal, Fern Michaels

Not a Sisterhood book, but a great read.

Also read The Library of Lost and Found, Phaedra Patrick. Exceptional bibliotherapy for women. So much so, I'm going to givt some to women's shelters.

Slso read Deja Vu, Fern Michaels, another Sisterhood.

Happy Valentine's Day, All!

[SheltieLover]

12. I really enjoyed Miranda James Cat in the Stacks series!

[japple]

14. Still reading Michelle Huneven's book, SEARCH.

Not making a whole lot of progress, but enjoyable reading. It's kind of cozy even though there's no mystery. Thanks for the weekly thread, hermetic. Many happy valentines to you, too.

[judesedit]

15. Actually just finished rereading "To Kill a Mockingbird". A gripping story

Now reading "At All Costs", by John Gilstrap. Another page turner. It's about a couple being framed for murder. Involves FBI, politicians, cops. Not quite half done, but I do recommend it if looking for something to read.

I'll check out Blindsighted. I live in Georgia lol

Thanks, hermetic, and much love to you this Valentine's day and every day.

[hermetic]

16. Hey, thanks

Likewise.

[judesedit]

17. You're very welcome

[yellowdogintexas]

18. Back from convention and returned to my reading habit

I am reading right now a book that has been lying around in my Kindle for a long time.

Divine Hotel: Time Travel by Nicole Loughan

Time Travel/Historical Fiction/Mystery

When two street-wise children make the ruins of the once majestic Divine Hotel their playground they find themselves in big trouble. After they go missing the social worker tasked with their retrieval learns that their lives, and the lives of the other inhabitants of the hotel, are hopelessly intertwined with the fate of the famed preacher who founded the hotel, Father Divine. The only way to save the children is to go back to 1964, to the heart of the battle between Father Divine and the notorious cult leader Jim Jones to see where it all went wrong.

I am about 20% into it and so far it's pretty good.

Last week I read The Lost Man of Bombay by Vaseem Khan. First off, I
really like this author (he also wrote the Baby Ganesh Mysteries) . This book is the third in a series featuring Detective Persis Wadia, the first female detective in the Bombay Constabulary.

Bombay, 1950
When the body of a white man is found frozen in the Himalayan foothills near Dehra Dun, he is christened the Ice Man by the national media. Who is he? How long has he been there? Why was he killed?

As Inspector Persis Wadia and Metropolitan Police criminalist Archie Blackfinch investigate the case in Bombay, they uncover a trail left behind by the enigmatic Ice Man - a trail leading directly into the dark heart of conspiracy.

Meanwhile, two new murders grip the city. Is there a serial killer on the loose, targeting Europeans?

Rich in atmosphere, the thrilling third chapter in the CWA Historical Dagger-winning Malabar House series pits Persis against a mystery from beyond the grave, unfolding against the backdrop of a turbulent post-colonial India, a nation struggling to redefine itself in the shadow of the Raj.
This is a complex story with a lot of twists and it definitely kept me up late. Highly recommend.

The second book I read is from the Florida Panhandle Mystery Series by Michaela Thompson.te
Riptide As intricate as a fisherman’s net, Riptide fairly writhes with sinister delights—family secrets, family feuds, lost family fortunes, betrayals, puzzles, sunken treasure… and murder, of course. With a bit of illicit romance and treachery thrown in for seasoning. This rife atmosphere swirls around New york artist Isabel Anders, who’s summoned home to tiny St. Elmo, Florida to deal with an emergency: the aunt who raised her has been brutally—and mysteriously—injured.

Isabel arrives to find the family mansion in ruins, her aunt living in a trailer, and, dangerous as a cottonmouth, the lover she left at sixteen just where he used to be. Waiting for her. Except now he’s got a grudge against her, a secret of his own, and some unsavory companions. Just when Isabel’s aunt seems to be getting better (but before she’s able to talk again) she dies just as mysteriously as she was injured. Suspecting murder, Isabel quickly ties her aunt’s death to another.

But to find the killer, she has to hack her way through a small-town jungle of intrigue and several generations of interrelated secrets, producing hours of pulse-pounding delight for the confirmed puzzle fan.

I pretty much read straight through this one. Sometimes insomnia comes in handy. I have one more of these in my Kindle library; saving for another insomniac night

[CrispyQ]

20. I love this week's image!

The librarians at my library come up will clever displays, too.

I gave up on Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro. I gave it to page 75, but it was too slow. The inciting incident was at the very first of the story & after that, there was no story, just a mix of memories from the six POV characters.

I had books coming from different libraries & five showed up at the same time!